寶興尋桂

Unidentified violet 1

Unidentified violet 2

Unidentified violet 3 (1)

Unidentified violet 3 (2)

寶興桂花（Osmanthus serrulatus）

An Osmanthus tree growing on the river bank

Attracted by China National Geography's report about the newly discovered wild osmanthus forest that extends tens of miles in Donglashan Canyon (東拉山大峽谷) in Baoxing (寶興) , I made a special trip there with hopes of being intoxicated by the fragrance of this sweetest-smelling flower.

After a weary prolonged ride by bus, minivan and motorbike, with an overnight stay in Baoxing township, I finally arrived at the starting point of the trails leading to two of the valleys with the highest concentration of osmanthus colonies: 趕羊溝 桂嬙溝

(To be continued)

Songkran

We drove into town in the late afternoon to join in the Songkran celebration. I took my camera with me but was not able to take a single picture as we all got soaked from head to toe. My camera was not waterproof so I had no chance.

The water splashing was fun. Some people used ice cold water which made us shiver even in the tropical heat. What I did not like was the occasional attack of colourful water (dyed with chemical food colourings supposedly) which I had a hard time trying to avoid.

Yellow Gardinia & Baby Pineapples

Delightful discoveries during my bike ride near Wat Chalong today...